


Milk Tea | Oumota Soulmate/Cafe AU

by CosmiKite



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Cafe AU, Café, Cheesy, Cliche, Falling In Love, Fluff, Happy, Happy Ending, Kaito Momota - Freeform, Kaito x Kokichi, Kokichi Oma - Freeform, Kokichi Ouma - Freeform, M/M, Male Homosexuality, Momota x Oma, Momota x Ouma, Oma x Momota, Ouma x Momota, Oumota, Romantic Soulmates, Soulmate AU, Soulmates, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29860044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmiKite/pseuds/CosmiKite
Summary: Edit 1 of changing the description cause I'm indecisive ::Kokichi, someone looking to start over and find a job to move away from his parents, stumbles across the Fern Cafe. It's a cafe seemingly ran by Kaito, the manager. Getting accepted as a new baristo, Kokichi returns everyday. Though, not to work, but to see Kaito. That is his motivation after all.Though, Kokichi utterly HATES the idea of love. Sure, he jokes about it and others love him, but he believes he will forever be alone due to the fact he can't connect with others like everyone else. The thought of the cliche endings are a whole new distaste on his part.Kaito on the other hand is an entrepreneur who struggles to run his cafe as bills begin to pile up. Life is taking a more positive turn as Kokichi comes into his life, and he is brought to see life in a more fun less strict business approach. Though, his feeling are stored deep away, he still loves the idea of cliche love stories.GRGRGRG HIHIHI I TRY TO UPDATE AS MUCH AS I CAN. SO FAR I HAVE TO BALANCE LIKE,, FAMILY, CHORES, SCHOOL, AND IN MAY I'LL BE GETTING A JOB ON THE WEEKENDS SO,, IMA TRY,, YOU BETTER STICK AROUND AND I'LL APPRECIATE IT <3
Relationships: Momota Kaito & Oma Kokichi, Momota Kaito/Oma Kokichi
Comments: 17
Kudos: 20





	1. Prologue

Kokichi never believed in quote on quote ‘soulmates’. Nor the whole game of fate and that cheesy crap. Ouma believed he would grow up lonely. No- He had his few friends. Well, more like one friend. Rantaro Amami. Sure, he ran a small gang, but he wouldn’t consider any of his goons his friends. They were more like highschoolers who thought it would be trendy to join some kind of gang, any gang, even one run by a 5’1 boy who acted like a kindergartener with no knowledge on how gangs should be run. If you can’t tell, the whole topic was a disaster.

But that's besides the point. The point was that Ouma hated the idea of love. Who needed it anyways. It was just a distraction from the real world that had enough issues already, why add on with unrequited feelings.

On the other hand, Kaito believed every last bit. Though, he was destined never to meet someone who loved him, or even cared for him in a romantic way. God, what he would give to experience such a romance written novel. Red strings were a fantasy he had always desired to live through. Actually, he actually kind of did. You see, Momota had some instinct. A matchmaker like instinct. No, he couldn’t see red strings, but if he could, he would most certainly be snapped. But Kaito could perfectly notice romance between two people, though he was hopeless when it came to himself. 

The boy could never tell if someone loved him, and he had never felt so strongly about anyone. Where his heart was supposed to be was filled with other future plans. His dreams started off as becoming an astronaut, but he lacked any talents. So instead, he took it upon himself to work in a small cafe serving coffees and fancy trendy drinks for days to come.

But of course, as fate would have it, they were destined to meet, none other than in the cafe Momota worked in.


	2. Chapter 1 :: Application

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In finding a flyer for a new job opening, Kokichi takes it upon himself to apply to the Fern Cafe. There he meets a man named Kaito Momota, the seemingly only employee to work there. How will this go O-O

Kokichi never believed in quote on quote ‘soulmates’. Nor the whole game of fate and that cheesy crap. Ouma believed he would grow up lonely. No- He had his few friends. Well, more like one friend. Rantaro Amami. Sure, he ran a small gang, but he wouldn’t consider any of his goons his friends. They were more like highschoolers who thought it would be trendy to join some kind of gang, any gang, even one run by a 5’1 boy who acted like a kindergartener with no knowledge on how gangs should be run. If you can’t tell, the whole topic was a disaster.

But that's besides the point. The point was that Ouma hated the idea of love. Who needed it anyways. It was just a distraction from the real world that had enough issues already, why add on with unrequited feelings.

On the other hand, Kaito believed every last bit. Though, he was destined never to meet someone who loved him, or even cared for him in a romantic way. God, what he would give to experience such a romance written novel. Red strings were a fantasy he had always desired to live through. Actually, he actually kind of did. You see, Momota had some instinct. A matchmaker like instinct. No, he couldn’t see red strings, but if he could, he would most certainly be snapped. But Kaito could perfectly notice romance between two people, though he was hopeless when it came to himself. 

The boy could never tell if someone loved him, and he had never felt so strongly about anyone. Where his heart was supposed to be was filled with other future plans. His dreams started off as becoming an astronaut, but he lacked any talents. So instead, he took it upon himself to work in a small cafe serving coffees and fancy trendy drinks for days to come.

But of course, as fate would have it, they were destined to meet, none other than in the cafe Momota worked in.

It was an early morning in summer. School had already been let out and Kokichi now was looking for a job to keep him busy while saving up for money to move out of his parent’s house and start a new, free life. As much as his dream was to live in a big mansion and all, that was far too unlikely on account of him having 757.47¥ in his possession. 

As he walked along the streets, a sign stuck out to him.. None other than a ‘Now Hiring’ sign. That was a good sign! As the purple haired boy tore the paper from the wooden post, he began to look over it. It was for a cafe.

“..Well.. it doesn’t hurt to try.” 

His words were mumbles to himself. Walking along the sidewalk, Kokichi kept his maude eyes peeled for the cafe that the sign had come from. Beauty shops and mini markets scattered along the streets, young adults walking in and out of them quickly. 

Finally, Ouma spotted the cafe. It was smaller than he had expected, but he had high hopes nonetheless. A small ringing of the bell came from the entrance as he walked in. It seemed like a small family owned type deal. The inside was clean and seemed put together, a hand made menu sat up along the side of the wall. There was one table by the large window that allowed the public to peer in, though no one occupied it at the moment. An employee stood at the counter, a smart phone between his two hands, quick tapping noises could be heard. 

Walking up to him, Kokichi tapped his nails along the ceramic counter.

“Excu~se me~!” 

The boy in front of him looked up, his phone tilted down and Ouma’s eyes looked at the screen. It was a messaging app, the baristo had seemed to be messaging some girl, but things took a turn and it looked as though she had dumped him.

“Hey there, can I help ya’?” 

Despite the terrible online interaction, his tone was bubbly as he spoke, no signs of annoyance.

“Well, I was wondering about this!” 

Ouma slammed the paper on the counter, a large grin spread across his face as he bounced up and down. Taking the paper from the table, Kokichi watched as the boy looked over it. Ouma looked around, his eyes saw a small clipboard that rested on the side of the counter..

M 11-5 | Momota Kaito 

M 5-10 | Momota Kaito 

M 6-11 | Momota Kaito 

M 11-5 | Momota Kaito 

T 5-10 | Momota Kaito 

T 6-11 | Momota Kaito 

Kaito’s name filled every line.

“I really wonder why there is a schedule if you are the only one working, Momota-Chan!” 

A small cough came from the baristo, the nickname appeared to have taken him off guard. Especially due to the fact Kokichi hadn’t used the correct suffix.

“Momota-Chan..? That is odd.. You know it would be-”

Ouma cut him off, the side of his arm resting against the side of the white counter. If the counter had been given a shiny coat, no doubt that Kokichi could've looked directly at it and have seen his reflection.

“Yeah, yeah, I know~ Don’t pester me with the corrections, trust me, I have heard it all~! Now, do I have the job..?”

Kaito raised an eyebrow, slightly confused at Ouma, but still dug into a drawer that had been pulled out from behind the counter. A hand grabbed a paper and a pen, handing them to Kokichi. It was a resume template. Jeez, Kokichi rather do anything but a resume. Grabbing the pen, it was quite plain other than it had engraved white print that had the name of the cafe, ‘Cafe Fern’. There was a slight glitter to it. The name was pretty explanatory as there were numerous plants around the area. Even some succulents hung from a wire metal shelf. 

“Just fill that out and you should be set, alright? Oh, would you like anything to drink..?”

Kokichi began to check off boxes already, not even bothering to go to the one table and take his time. The question of wanting a beverage made him sigh. As thirsty as he was, Ouma didn’t have that much money, not enough to splurge on a sugary beverage, at least. The pen stopped it’s motions and Kokichi capped it, handing it and the paper back to Kaito.

“Sure, I mean- no thanks. You see~ I am a little short on change, can’t afford it!”

“No- you can have it for free, it’s on the house!”

Momota was paying for his drink..? That confused the boy even more.

“If you wanna take me on a date, I will have you know that I must decline! I have a waiting list of girls and boys waiting for me to accept their date invitations! Though I could sign you up for next year, that is~ the soonest opening!”

Momota looked confused, his eyebrow raising again. He hadn’t thought of the boy as more than a co-worker up to now. Well, other than a child. He looked like one, at least. A small chuckle led on to his next statement correcting Kokichi’s suspicions. 

“No, no. Employees get free drinks. Two a day, in fact! Pretty great rule, if I do say so myself! Besides, you are way too young for me-”

Ouma watched as Kaito spoke, his eyes looking over the paper slowly, not having gotten to the age portion yet.

“Momota-Chan! You know I am 19! How could you have not guessed even that? I am su~per tall and really muscular! It should be oober obvious you big idiot!”

Of course that was all a lie. Mr. 5’1 couldn’t be seen as strong or an adult even if he tried, and Kaito found humor in his statement, though upon realizing he was wrong with the age, he proceeded to apologize numerous times.

“Oh jeez- I am so sorry- I thought you were a child and I was about to tell you that you couldn’t work here and just- jeez- my bad!”

Ouma calmed the baristo down, waving his hand a couple of times with a small chuckle.

“Hey, come on now, don’t beat yourself up over it man! Trust me, it happens more times than I have yen, so let's call it a past thing! Besides~ It’s no fun getting teased all the time! Thanks for apologizing at least, now we can be cool friends!”

Kaito nodded, filing the paper as he dug into another drawer, pulling out a nametag and an apron and handing them to Kokichi.

“Yeah.. sounds good to me! Anyways, write your name on this and here is your apron, if you ever need another, then don’t hesitate to ask.. Oh, sorry if it’s too big, it is the smallest size!”

Holding the plasticy name tag in his hands, Ouma began to work the apron on himself, checking how big it was on him. Surprisingly, it didn’t even touch the floor, it was almost a perfect size. A hand snatched a dry erase marker from the pencil holder on the counter, scribbling his name on quickly and grinning at how professional he looked. The job seemed like a perfect choice for him, and Kaito seemed like a good guy.

“Okay Mr. Goatee, when do I start!”

Momota laughed at the nickname, stroking the hairs of his goatee as his gaze pointed down at the hardwood flooring.

“Well, right now, actually.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed :,D I know it doesn't really follow the soulmate path rn, but it will come into play later. Be patient unu


	3. Chapter 2 :: Coffee Grounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my friend for saying Korekiyo should be really creepy in this chapter :sob:

“Well, right now, actually.”

Really.. Was Kokichi’s new job starting right now..? He hadn’t expected such a soon opening.

“Uh, not to burst your bubble or nothin’, but shouldn’t a manager decide that type of stuff, Momota-Chan?”

Still new to the nickname, Kaito masked the embarrassment it caused for him. A nervous laugh came from the baristo before he pointed to the name tag he had on. He was actually the manager of the cafe. Gaping at the new found knowledge, Kokichi batted his lavender eyelashes at Momota.

“Man, I feel honored to be talking to the manager of the Fern Cafe~!”

Kaito laughed, a hand scratching the hairs that stuck to the back of his neck. Well, it wasn’t that much of an honor. It was a small cafe, not well known. Of course Kaito wanted to change that, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. Growing a business wasn’t something that could be done overnight, let alone in the busy area it was located.

“Yeah, well, I guess you can put it that way! Anyways, are you ready to start? Of course you can’t get right to work, but training is something that takes at least an hour, so we can get that over with!”

Training was.. Well.. not as hard as it sounded. It was just going over the recipes and how to work some of the machines, the hardest part came to the bubble tea, but that was something only Kaito took upon himself to make. It was his idea to add it to the menu, afterall. 

Ouma shrugged, of course he was physically ready, he hadn’t anywhere to be and it seemed like today was just one of those days where he had nothing else to do. But he wasn’t quite mentally ready. Messing up would screw him over, and that was the last thing he wanted.

“Sure.. I mean- Of course I, Kokichi Ouma, king of the world, is ready to start this amazing job here at the most well known cafe in all the lands!”

A chuckle rumbled in Kaito's throat as he waved a hand towards a backdoor that led to the kitchen. It was an off white, leaning into a minty green. At the bottom, there were small plants painted. The whole aesthetic was very pleasing to Kokichi, it calmed him down and wasn’t overwhelming at all. 

Following the taller male, Ouma looked at the kitchen, his eyes wide. It was like a wonderland. Different tubes of syrups and such sprawl across a counter. Cups line the sides of a wooden table. A stove was on preparing some tapioca pearls, machinery line a different counter. In all, it was just phenomenal.

“Suppose we can start out with the machinery.”

Kaito proceeded to point at the few things the counters held, describing what each one did and how it worked. Moving on, he began to tell Kokichi how to clean them and stuff like that. 

A few hours passed as the training continued. So far, Momota hadn’t given Ouma any instructions yet, nor had he told Kokichi to prepare anything. It was all going easy enough until Kaito told Kokichi the next step.

“So far you have learned a few recipes, suppose now it’s time to try one out! Something easy, maybe a coffee!”

That was easy, all you had to do was measure out coffee grounds, get a liner, measure out water, and wait for it to brew. But Kokichi felt as though he would mess up. Why was he so nervous..? This was unlike him. Shaking the growing thoughts of failure from his head, Kokichi decided that if he messed up and got fired for it, the job wasn’t right for him and that was that. But he still desired to keep the job. So far he enjoyed Kaito’s company. The two of them got along way better than he would’ve guessed. But that was only because for the majority of the time, Kokichi had kept silent, refusing to embarrass himself. 

“Alright! I’ve got this, just watch me and soon I will surpass even your barista level!”

Kaito held up a finger, correcting Kokichi with a chuckle.

“That’s baristo to you, Kokichi!”

Ouma honestly couldn’t care less. He would decide to call Kaito barista just to upset him at this rate. He found entertainment in it.

His hand grabbed a liner and shoved it in the coffee pot. Measuring out a mixture of the grounds, he spooned them in then poured water in one of the sections. The coffee took a minute, then began to brew slowly. It spelled delicious, though, Ouma hated the taste of coffee. It disgusted him.

The coffee was brewed and Kokichi poured it in a cup, popping a lid on top, he handed it over to Kaito, a cocky grin on his face. Momota took a sip, wincing as he scolded his mouth, then shrugged a grin at Kokichi.

“Alright! Tastes like coffee! I guess you passed! The only rules we have is not to touch anything related to our bubble tea and be nice to customers! Easy enough, right Ouma?” 

Kokichi shook his head, jumping up and down angrily.

“Oh, come on Momota-Chan! If I don't annoy the customers, what’s the point of even being here! That’s so boring! Mr. Boring pants!”

Rubbing his forehead stressfully, Momota gave Kokichi an unamused glance.

“The point of being here is to work. Whether it’s fun or not, you can’t annoy paying customers! The goal is to grow this place, not watch it-”

The noise of a bell came from the front entrance and Kaito pushed past Ouma.

“Welcome to Fern Cafe, how may I help- oh no..”

Kaito stared at the person in front of him. The guy wore a weird, green mask, and looked oddly happy to see Momota.

“Kehehe.. You sound so happy to see me! What’s the occasion?”

Kaito gave a nervous laugh back, the boy’s long hair hung down to his back, his eyes squinted in a smile. Though, the smile was of course unseeable on account of the odd mask he wore.

“Yeah, yeah, what would you like to order..? We haven’t brewed much coffee today, so I can’t help you much..”

Grabbing either shoulder, the long haired boy closed his eyes, tilting his head up as he let out another laugh. Momota was scared beyond belief, disturbed as well. He hadn’t even ever gotten this guys name, though, he did always fill out an order in the name ‘Kork’. That couldn’t be his real name. Momota’s goal was to finesse the name of the creep out of him.

“Kehehe, just give me all the grounds you’ve got. I don’t mind how ever many that so be!”

Kaito took a moment, his gaze turning back to the kitchen door then to Kork.

“I’ll give them to you, but what’s your name..?”

The boy’s eyes opened as he thought for a moment. Taking his hands off of his shoulders, he stared at Momota, locking their eyes.

“Korekiyo Shinguji.”

Kaito nodded quickly, not wanting to look at Shinguji any longer, he ran to the kitchen and grabbed the coffee grounds, putting them in a cup, and sealing it up before Kokichi had even a moment to ask what was happening. 

Getting out of the kitchen, he handed the cup to Korekiyo and shooed him away.

“Free of charge as usual, have a nice day, bye!”

Korekiyo gave a snake-like grin that was barely noticeable from the mask before nodding and leaving the cafe. Ouma walked out of the kitchen a few seconds later, confused and actually quite scared.

“Who was that, Momota-Chan..? I heard them, they sounded super weird and creepy! I wish you had gotten me to talk to them~!”

Momota shook his head, turning to Kokichi.

“Nah, he was no one, just a customer. Pretty weird dude, but nothing I can’t handle! Anyways, suppose you can cover this shift, it is my break anyways. Usually the cafe is closed during my break, but since you’re here, if you can handle the shift, everything should be good!”

Ouma nodded eagerly, peering up at Kaito with almost puppy dog-like eyes.

“Sure thing, Momota-Chan! I won’t go touching anything I’m not supposed to~!”

Kaito took his word and walked to the kitchen, sitting in a chair to the side and passing out quite quick actually. It was obvious he hadn’t gotten much sleep recently, probably caught up with the cafe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> @ the people who left kudos. You guys are poggers


	4. Chapter 3 :: Bills upon Bills upon Bills

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So like.. Tsumugi appearance but not directly stating it's Tsumugi? Yes pls. Time to throw her into the tags cause I am poggers and do that sometimes.

After Kokichi was positive that Kaito had fallen asleep, he began to do exactly what he wasn’t supposed to. His hands ruffled through papers in one of the drawers at the counter. Curiosity killed the cat, but Kokichi had no plans of getting caught. He already knew millions of different lies to cover up his situation if theoretically Kaito caught him going through his stuff.

Among the papers and resumes, Kokichi found a manilla folder. Looking left and right, he peeked into the kitchen to make sure Kaito was still asleep. Of course he was, there was no surprise there. 

Returning to the drawer, he pulled out the folder and had begun to look through the papers. Bills upon bills, all unpaid. What was going on.. They all were addressed to Kaito. He was the manager, not.. Not the owner.. Unless.. Well, that was a topic starter. Kokichi shoved the papers back in as he heard the front entrance open. Putting the manilla folder back, he slammed the drawer back and looked up.

“Welcome to Fern Cafe, how may I serve you~!”

A blue haired girl grinned at him before looking up at the menu. Her eyes directly looked at the milk tea selection.

“Ah, may I have a plain medium mango bubble tea?”

Kokichi looked confused. What was a ‘plain’ mango bubble tea? Rocking back and forth from his heel to his toes, he shrugged.

“I can get you a medium mango bubble tea, I don’t know what a plain medium mango bubble tea is!”

The girl adjusted her glasses nervously, looking down for a second, noticeably uncomfortable.

“My bad, it’s just a plain stupid habit I have.”

Ouma mocked her, pushing his index finger against the bridge of his nose then mumbling the word ‘plain’ in a voice he tried to make as close as possible to hers.

Kokichi seemed to have spaced the whole rule of ‘don’t touch anything bubble tea related’ because he ended up running over to the stove and scooping some of the tapioca pearls into a large cup. Ouma had already screwed up the size, why not the flavor at this point. He began to put in the mango flavor, then ran over to the syrups. Immediately, he began pumping in the weirdest flavors. Raspberry, caramel, why not vanilla while we were at it?

After he had finished, Ouma walked back out to see the girl sitting at the single table, scrolling on her phone. His hand hit the bell, quite a few times actually. She quickly became annoyed, walking up to the counter quickly and placing her hand on Ouma’s, trying to get him to stop.

“Here is your PLAIN medium mango bubble tea!” 

Grabbing the drink from him, the girl noticed it was incorrectly sized, but the color of the drink itself wouldn’t hint that it had been tampered with.

“Ah.. here.. Uhm, thank you.. King Ouma..?” 

His name tag had had that written on it. Instead of the name Kokichi, he had written ‘King’. The girl seemed confused, but she wasn’t there to judge. The yen she had handed over would be the price for a large one. She felt too anxious to tell him the size was off, thinking it would’ve been annoying and disrespectful if she had.

Kokichi got an idea. He could just serve the wrong sizes to them, and he would get paid more. Why not pocket the extra money while he was at it? Shoving some of the yen in his back pocket, Ouma shoved the rest in a register. 

He eagerly watched as she took a sip of the drink, his expression showed she didn’t like it, but the girl didn’t say anything. Instead, she began to grab her bag and leave the cafe. 

Returning to the cabinet, Kokichi decided to dig deeper. Maybe Momota was part of some drug cartel. He thought about how much he could be paid for finding someone partaking in illegal actions. Okay.. well.. Maybe Kaito was too innocent to be part of that type of organization, but that didn’t remove any of Ouma’s curiosity. 

Rummaging past the folder this time, he peered at the other papers. There wasn’t anything interesting. He closed the drawer, standing back up, he watched the entrance like a hawk. The door behind him opened and Kaito walked out.

“Mmph.. how’s business, Kokichi?”

Ouma turned around, slapping Kaito before jumping up and down.

“Oopsies~! Sorry! You scared me, Momota-Chan! Anyways, yep, I served some nerdy looking girl!”

Momota yawned again, wiping a small string of drool that sat beside his mouth.

“Oh..? Good job! What did she order?”

Kaito did a small spin, walking to the side to let Kaito take charge. He was the manager after all

“A large coffee!”

Kokichi didn’t want to get caught in fear of getting fired. Kaito seemed pretty gullible, believing the lie right away. He looked in the cash register, it all seemed believable. Sure, there was more yen in there than a coffee cost, but he assumed it was a tip.. Even though there was a tip jar on the counter. 

“Good work! Proud of you! For a newbie, you aren’t half bad!”

Kokichi rolled his eyes, lightly punching the taller boy’s shoulder.

“For an idiot, Momota-Chan, you aren’t half smart!”

Kaito seemed not only confused by the comment, but offended as well. He rubbed the spot where he had been lightly punched, then rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah.. I’m not dumb, come on, get along. You can go home now, I’ll pay you at the end of the week!”

Ouma grinned, giving Kaito a a salute before running out of the cafe and to his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAA CANCEL KOKR FRO BEING IN THE YAKUZA 2021 HFKJAHFKHASKDFHAW IM SO SORRY THIS IS RANDOM I SAW A COMMENT ABOUT IT AND CACKLED MB


	5. Chapter 4 :: Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> coughs coughs,, yo, Maki in the Oumota fanfic, let's go poggers.

The new day brought another letter to the cafe. Another bill. Kaito opened it, tearing the top off and slowly opening the matte paper. It wasn’t too much money, but adding it to all of the other bills he had, it seemed impossible to ever pay them all off.

The lights began to flicker. Were they going to remove his power.. No.. they couldn’t remove the boy’s power. That would end everything for him. After a few seconds of the flickering, they brightened back up and a breath that Momota didn’t even know he was holding was finally released.

It was just about 9 am and a jumpy kid ran into the cafe, a dark green apron flowing behind him.

“Momota-Chan! I’m here to work!”

Kaito laughed, his head shook. Kokichi didn’t need to come in so early, yet he did. It was that sort of dedication that Momota appreciated from him. His hands tapped on the counter as he watched Kokichi run to his side of the counter. Why did Kokichi look cuter than usual in his eyes. It was like the boy had gotten 100% more adorable overnight. How does that happen..

Maybe Kaito was just tired and loopy from the lack of sleep. Nevertheless, he didn’t treat Kokichi any differently than usual, being just as strict yet nice to him.

“So, how was your rest last night?”

Ouma thought for a moment, a hand running through his deep purple hair. 

“Well, it was decent. I kept waking up! I don’t know why.. I had a terrible dream! Bleh..”

The small boy continued to whine. Sure, it was annoying, but more than anything, Kaito wanted to know what the dream was about. His thumb and index finger stroked his goatee, his shoes clicked against the hardwood floor. Kokichi hadn’t noticed until now that he wore galaxy shoes. No, not slippers, but real shoes. They looked fancy.

“What was the dream about? Maybe I can help you out!”

Ouma didn’t understand what he meant by ‘help him out’ but he told him nonetheless.

“I ended up having one of those sickly sweet love stories. That Romeo and Juliet stuff. Pretty gross. We ended up getting married in a forest- me and the person- not you.”

That was a lie. The dream had followed him and Kaito. Kokichi hated that fact. They had only just meant and Ouma’s mind planted these thoughts into him. Impossible any of it could ever come true. Not in a million years. Not even in 2 million. Never ever never. At least.. That’s what Kokichi told himself, but you all know the name of this story.

Kaito crossed his arms over his chest. Letting out a small laugh followed by a shrug, he let Kokichi in on something.

“Well, I dreamt about you last night!”

Kokichi immediately became flustered, his face flushed a bright pink but he tried to hold it back. It quickly faded just as Momota looked back up at him from the counter.

“Oh~ Does Mr. Manager-Man love me~! How heart racing~!”

Momota seemed confused to say the least.

“Love you..? No. No, no. It wasn’t that type of dream! You were working a late shift and ended up burning down the kitchen trying to cook a wooden spoon on the stove.. I don’t know what it means, but at the same time, I don’t think I want to..”

Confusion rushed through Ouma. I mean- so disappointed that he didn’t have someone dreaming about him, but that was aside the point that he felt confused about the dream. Okay, maybe that was something he would do, but probably not.

“Ah- that sounds way better anyways! You thinking dirty thoughts about me doesn’t sound very pleasant now that I think about it..”

Kaito was even more confused hearing that’s what Kokichi meant by loving him. Momota loved the idea of.. well.. love.. When people had bad interpretations on it, he expected it to be his job to change that.

“Love is more than just dirty thoughts! It’s having such deep emotions and feelings for someone that you can’t stand watching them suffer or can’t stand watching them be alone! You do small, loving, things for someone and sacrifice so much to make them happier than anything!”

Oh come on. Ouma rolled his eyes and stuck out the tip of his tongue.

“Yeah.. sounds weird to me! Besides, no one has those types of feelings for me anyways! Nor do I have them for anyone.. well.. Yeah, I don’t have those feelings for anyone! You can’t make me!”

Kaito waved his arms, a nervous smile on his face as he tried to reassure the boy.

“Okay, Okay. Don’t worry, that’s not my goal! I just want to let you know, I guarantee there is someone out there, someone who sees you for how amazing and fantastic you-”

Ouma held out his fist. Kaito looked at him, confused, he cupped his hands around Kokichi’s fist, though, Ouma pulled away, opening his hands up. There was the money he had pocketed from the other day.

“It’s yours. I stole it.”

Kaito slowly grabbed it, turning the yen around in his hands. He looked betrayed, his eyes showed it. Momota had thought he could trust the boy, but the yen showed he was wrong. The yen was shoved into his pocket and the baristo sighed. It was obvious how upset he was, but refused to take it out.

“Damn Kokichi.. that’s.. messed.. But I forgive you, you can stay, I don’t mind. You aren’t fired or anything.”

Kokichi was bewildered, how could Kaito just.. Forgive him..? He had stolen from Momota but Momota didn’t seem to care one bit. Kaito began to organize the yen into the register, making sure to count everything before closing the register. Taking out his phone, Kaito once again began to scroll through social media and back to messaging what looked to be the same girl who had dumped him.

“What’s going on between you and ‘Maki’?”

Kaito was taken aback once Ouma mentioned the girl he had been messaging. A nervous laugh came from him as he shut off his phone, placing it on the matte white counter.

“Well.. we got into a fight and she is still cold about it. She was my girlfriend.. I hate to admit that I am still trying to get her back, she isn’t quite budging though..”

“Oh! Well, you have to make her jealous! It’s easy! Alright? All you have to do is find a new girlfriend! Well.. don’t lead anyone up or nothing, just tell the girls what’s going on before you guys get together!”

Momota liked the idea, though, he hated to admit that. But it wasn’t as easy as Kokichi made it sound. Sure, Kaito loved spending time with Kokichi, but the boy was very less than realistic sometimes.

“Hmm.. I have an idea! We can have a fake relationship to make Maki jealous!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I listened to Wilbur Soot playing minecraft with Jschlatt while writing this. How poggers is that, should I add those tags since I mentioned them   
> JKJK IM NOT ADDING THOSE TAGS THAT WOULD BE FUNNY THO NGL


	6. Chapter 5 :: Closed

“Hmm.. I have an idea! We can have a fake relationship to make Maki jealous!”

The words stuck with Momota. Dating a co-worker sounded off, even if it was faked. He would feel bad declining since the idea made sense, but something told him it would only end in real drama, whether it be on Maki’s part or Kokichi’s.

“Alright.. But this is strictly fake, I am not interested in guys, okay?”

Ouma snorted a laugh, rolling his eyes.

“And I’m a good barista!”

“Baristo.”

“Same thing~!”

In Momota’s eyes, they weren’t at all the same thing, complete opposites in fact. But that got him thinking.. was Kokichi homosexual. Okay, yeah, the thought and internal question was quite odd, but in his defense, Kaito was curious. Ouma had always come off as more feminine in his actions, or maybe it was childishness. Nevertheless, it got him pondering on the topic longer than he should’ve been.

Small snaps were coming from in front of his face, between his eyes in specific.

“Earth to Momota-Chan! Can you read me~!”

Shaking out of his daze, Momota gave a chuckle before pushing Ouma’s hand away from his face.

“Did you grow or something? Why do you seem taller.”

Kaito hadn’t noticed that Kokichi was sitting on the matte white counter.

“Yep! I took steroids and got super duper tall! You must have taken about a thousand to get to your height, Momota-Chan!”

Steroids.. What was Ouma going on about..? That.. wasn’t the effects of them at all. But Kaito knew that the boy was a liar, so after another second, he noticed the boy on the counter and picked him off.

“Back on topic, sounds good to me, we can start this plan.”

It was either the usual adrenaline the boy naturally had that was keeping him excited and energetic, or the fact someone actually thought about his plan and decided to put it into action. 

“Alri~ghty then~! First step is to lure her to the cafe! Have her bring a friend or something, then we will act all lovey dovey!!”

Kaito took out his phone and began to message her:

* * *

-Lum1n4ry-

Hey HaruMaki, I was wondering if you would

be okay stopping by the cafe?

-Maki-

So you can show off how much I will be 

missing if I don’t take you back? I think I’ll 

pass. Thanks, but no thanks.

-Lum1n4ry-

Bring a friend! I don’t mind, it would be nice

just to see you! Even if not in a romantic

way! We can be bros!!

-Maki-

I don’t know what you’re planning, but I’ll

be there soon. This better not be a trap

or you’re dead.

-Lum1n4ry-

Haha.. alright HaruMaki.. See you soon!

* * *

Kaito let out an obvious gulp, nervous about the situation. He still decided it would be good to keep Kokichi updated.

“She will be bringing a friend. We can’t make it look like a trap, if she thinks we set this up with ill intentions, it will be my head on a spike..”

Ouma put a finger to his chin, thinking for a moment before nodding.

“Alright, we will play this like a double date.. They will be at the table, then we will make small remarks that will slowly draw out Maki’s insecurities about being replaced then we can move on and begin to-”

Slapping a hand on Kokichi’s mouth, Momota glared at him, though, it wasn’t very threatening. More like one of those looks that are obviously meant to scare the other party, but only ends up making both people laugh.

“In all seriousness, I don’t want to hurt the girl.. If this ends up making her cry or something, then I won’t feel accomplished. More or so just like a big asshole.”

Ouma quickly clung to him, looking up at the baristo before giving him lovey dovey googly eyes.

“My big asshole~!”

In confusion, Momota couldn’t seem to form words at the action. That was until he noticed why Kokichi had done it. Maki entered the cafe, a blonde girl walking beside her. 

“Kokichi-?!”

The black haired girl seemed to know who Ouma was, and it was no wonder why he had immediately recognized her and took the plan formed by him and Momota into action.

“Hey Maki! Isn’t my new boyfriend, Momo-Chan, just wonderful! He is the manager of this lovely cafe!”

Momo-Chan..? If Kokichi had known Maki, that struck the question why he hadn’t addressed her with the Chan suffix. Like hell was Ouma being subtle about this at all. This wasn’t what the two boys had planned, nor was it going the way Kaito wanted. 

“Boy..friend..?”

Maki seemed confused and her friend began to reassure Harukawa the best she could.

“Hey, they are probably just friends that are boys! Come on Maki, we should-”

Standing behind the counter, Ouma stuck out his index finger in objection in the position of a gun.

“No, that’s wrong! Momo-Chan is _my_ **boyfriend!** I wasn’t friendzoned or nothin’! We are lovers~!”

A snarky grin from Kokichi looked at the girls, and Kaito was obviously quite uncomfortable with the situation. Not only was he uncomfortable, but extremely confused. This wasn’t to plan, nor was it even close.

“Hah- _Yeah_.. Alright Kokichi, you can let go of me now..”

Ouma looked up at Kaito, confused why he was awkward about the situation, but shrugged it off regardless. It was Momota’s problem, not like Kokichi cared. But the boy still refused to let go, clingy on tighter as he stood up on his toes, leaning up to Kaito for a kiss.

“What are you-”

Before Kokichi got close enough, the taller boy pushed him away, shoving him from behind the counter. From his strength, he only meant to push Kokichi away a little, just to get the boy off of him, but Kokichi flung against the opposing side of the cafe. It wasn’t large, but it still struck him with pain.

“What was that for, Momota-Chan!?” 

Kaito held out his arms, forgetting Maki was even there with her friend as he began to shout back at Kokichi.

“This plan of yours sucks! All it’s doing is pissing them off and you have nothing to show! Trying to kiss me was not part of it at all, not to mention how disrespectful you are being! Trying to make them jealous only landed in-”

Maki’s eyes burned as she interrupted.

“You were WHAT!? I- Let’s.. Let’s go Kaede..”

Tugging on her friend’s sleeve, Harukawa began to leave with Akamatsu. After the door had shut behind them, the tiny bell dinged and Kaito only kept his glare with Kokichi.

“You know what- a-at least I don’t have a million bills piled up and at least I have a home! Mr. Owner-of-a-cafe!”

Momota seemed shocked that Kokichi had gone through his stuff. There was no other way he could have figured that all out without having burrowed through the drawers.

Ripping off his apron, Ouma threw it to the floor and the nametag made a small noise as it collided with the wood. There was an obvious spike of no self control as Kokichi’s voice rose.

“ **I quit! And you know what, I did touch the milk tea crap!** ”

Kaito only watched, thinking of a comeback, he spat out the only thing he could think of.

“You can’t **quit-** cause I- I- **I fire you!** ”

As the door shut with no response back, Momota stared in disbelief from the apron on the ground, to the pale counter, his hands slamming down on the ceramic.

“God Kaito, be better. What’s your issue.”

His words were mumbled under Kaito’s breath. Realizing the blinds were still open, Momota rushed to close them before turning around the sign on the door, signaling that the cafe was closed for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angsty pogchamp, I am gon start using rich text cause that's easier, HTML can burn. A R S O N


	7. Chapter 6 :: Hired (For the second time)

A hand reached for a deep blue sponge, scrubbing at the bottom of a pot that had stayed on the stove for over a week. At least two by the looks of it. The one cleaning wouldn’t know, he hadn’t been around that long. 

The burnt residue gave him trouble, but Kokichi persisted. To his surprise, Kaito wasn’t in the cafe. Luckily, Ouma had a knack for lock picking. Sure, breaking into a cafe may be illegal, but it was for good reasons, and that was his excuse in the end. 

After the metal pot had been washed, Kokichi moved onto a spoon, washing it and placing it on a towel that sprawled out across one of the multiple counters. After he had finished cleaning up just about the whole kitchen, his feet carried him back outside and the door was locked. He had twisted a small switch from the inside so once he left it would lock behind him. 

Walking through the streets, the boy couldn’t help but start to feel bad. I mean, not only did he ruin any chance the baristo had at getting a girlfriend, he also quit his job and did so many things that were either illegal or disobeying the rules of the cafe. The ones explicitly explained to him.

* * *

Kaito walked along the streets as he approached the cafe, his eyes noticed Ouma idling outside of the door. Shifting against the wall, Momota made sure Kokichi couldn’t see him as the male’s mind rushed, trying to find a way to apologize. It had never been this hard to apologize for him. But somehow, even without realizing it, Kokichi made every 20x more difficult. 

Ouma began to wander down the street towards Kaito. Walking past the crook the owner was settled in, his eyes noticed him from the peripheral. He continued to walk, making Momota believe he went unnoticed, but after a few more steps, the small boy did a 360, running back to Kaito.

“Kokichi..”

“Momo-Chan..”

They both couldn’t seem to find words to apologize.

“Listen I-”  
  
“I’m sor-”

Starting their next sentence at the same time, they both cut off their words quickly. Not before long, Kaito started again.

“Listen, Ouma, I’m sorry for how I treated you.. It was just.. Weird how clingy you were, and you only made Maki feel bad.. I was upset and heated in the moment, but I didn’t mean anything by what I said..”

Nodding slowly, Kokichi placed a hand behind his head, his eyes looking down to the side nervously.

“Yeah.. listen.. I’m sorry to. I didn’t actually touch your milk tea stuff, by the way.”

“Yes you did, I saw the lack of tapioca pearls in the pot.”

“No I didn’t~!”

“Stop lying Ouma.”

“Fine fine fine. Can I get hired again?”

Kaito chuckled, reaching a hand out to Kokichi. The smaller boy took it without hesitation, a smirk resting along his face and a sparkle in his eyes.

“You’re hired, welcome to the team!”

As the two boys returned to the cafe, Momota unlocked the door, opened the blinds, and handed the name tag and apron back to Kokichi. He had stuffed it under the counter, and once Ouma saw it, there were small stains along it. Signs that some sort of water had hit the fabric.

Had Kaito.. cried?

As unlikely as it was, Kaito had teared up a little over the reactions from the two parties. Kokichi quickly put the apron back on and ran beside Momota.

“You should go into the kitchen, Momo-Chan!”

Kaito had only now realized the new nickname being used and his face turned a bright pink from a mixture of being embarrassed and flustered. 

“Alright.. I will.. But what’s with the name?”

Kokichi let out a small hum, letting his eyes drift shut for a moment before looking back at Kaito.

“I have no clue what you’re talking about~!”

Momota slowly walked into the kitchen and was pleasantly surprised seeing how nice everything looked. He slowly walked to the dishes, picking them up and staring in shock at how new they appeared. Turning to Kokichi, who now stood in the doorway, he ran up to the smaller boy, giving him a large hug as the pot stayed in his hand.

“This is amazing! Thank you so much Ouma, you really are a good addition to the cafe!”

Kokichi giggled, softly pushing against Kaito’s chest as his head turned to the side.

“No way~ How haven’t you already noticed that! I’ve been great after the first second I joined and you know it!”

Momota let go of him and placed the pot on the stove before the door opened as another customer entered the cafe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI HIHI HIHI HIHI  
> SORRY THIS STORY WAS INACTIVE FOR A HOT MOMENT  
> not as hot as kokichi..  
> IM SORRY IM A SIMP  
> ANYWAYS
> 
> The reason this was inactive was because I was focusing on a very angsty very not child appropriate story. You can go check it out, it's called Hibana and it's also Oumota :flushed:
> 
> It's killing stalking inspired and I really doubt anyone who reads this fluff with the tiny grain of angst I threw in would enjoy it or even read it after seeing the warnings, but worth a try cause it had like.. 10,000 words apparently. I'm looking to make it at least 100,000 by the end of it being done. 
> 
> On a note more relevant (it took me 7 tries to type the word relevant correctly)  
> alright  
> On a note more relevant to this story, I only plan to make it around 20,000-40,000 words and then go bonk and have it end cause I'm more of an angst type guy.
> 
> Fluff is cute
> 
> but angst
> 
> *Insert that one f*ckboy lip biting emote*
> 
> Angst is hot


End file.
